Barbarella (1968) – In the 26th Century, special agent Barbarella is sent to return an evil genius to Earth before he brings war back into a peaceful society.
Directed by Roger Vadim Starring Jane Fonda, Anita Pallenberg, John Philip Law
Why I Liked It – Ummmm, Jane Fonda was kinda cute?
“Barbarella” tries to combine science fiction with a spy thriller with soft core porn.
And fails in all three categories.
This is a
really bad movie. Terrible script, awful acting, 1950’s style special effects, and a smug attempt at being “cute” that fails miserably. This sounds sexist but the best thing about this movie may be seeing the young Jane Fonda semi-naked. I swear to you, there is nothing else to like here.From brainless moments when Barbarella (Fonda) arrives on Lythion (the 16th planet around the star Tau Ceti), and asks if the children she meets speak English or French. Her boss tells her that we know nothing about Tau Ceti, but the folks on Lythion seem very knowledgeable about Earth. The script dives right into the soft porn in the opening scene. I assume it’s because they knew what followed was so bad they had to hook the audience up front. Backed by one of the worst theme songs I have ever heard, Barbarella strips out of her spacesuit. Right down to her birthday suit, which is what she wears when she talks to the President of Earth on a two way video screen. The movie goes downhill from there.
Sometimes called a “cult film”, I’d say you have to be pretty desperate to sit through all 98 minutes of this turkey. Some critics say that the movie goes south after the first three scenes. Care to guess where most of the semi-naked Barbarella is found? Hmmm… Once her clothes stay on, there’s little to recommend here.
I really want to say something nice about the movie itself. In reality, it’s awful science fiction, an awful spy flick, and, as hard as this is to believe, bad soft porn as well. It’s not funny, nor sexy, nor suspenseful, nor even action packed (in any sense of that phrase). Bad films that are cult films I understand. I re-watch “Plan 9 From Outer Space”, and “The Room”. They “lap the block” from bad to good by committing to their dreadful concepts. “Barbarella” stops at “Aren’t we cute?”. There’s a wink, wink, nudge, nudge mode to the “sexy” parts that is juvenile. The result is tedious and stupid.
Rating – ** Not Impressed
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